Rain, Rain GO AWAY!!

Why does time seem to be passing by so quickly? My sweet baby boy turned 4 this week and I'm having a bit of a hard time saying goodbye to the baby I gave birth to oh, I don't know..... like a year or so ago. Bye-bye baby.... Hello BIG Boy!

And poor thing, he doesn't even believe he's really four because we keep having to postpone his Diego outdoor adventure party because of all the rain. Just ask him..... "Jacob, can you believe you're FOUR years old??".... to which he replies (angrily I might add).... "I'm NOT four yet.... I haven't had my party!"

And about that party.... I'm trying to give him what he wanted.... a party full of Diego adventures for all of his friends, but that put me right back into some of my "old" ways..... all that crazy party-planning I used to do that I'd decided I'd take a break from for a while. As many times as I've done this in the past, I still forget how much work is involved. I've been sleeping 4-5 hours a night, waking at 3:00am or 4:00am, not able to get back to bed because my mind is racing with project ideas and that all familiar inner voice that says.... "Get up right now. Get as much as you can done BEFORE the kids wake up. It's much, much easier that way."

It's been fun to tap into my creative side again... except for the stress of trying to get in touch with everyone over & over again to yet again change the date and time of the party. Nothing like trying to plan an outdoor obstacle course and games when there are thunderstorms forecast for a full week! So I've been painting and designing stickers and baking and brainstorming and shopping and shopping again and finding as many bugs and spiders and snakes as I can (Fake, of course!). The house is a mess. I look like crap. Those are just the perils of planning a party...... but I hope it will be fun for everyone and I hope he'll remember this one for a long, long time.

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Jacob opening his Lego police car.... just what he wanted

Now THAT makes a mama happy

Here's the invitation I designed for the party

And the Rescue Pack I made for each of the kids to get at the party

These are all the items in the Rescue pack to help the kids
through their adventure to save the baby animals. There's even a picture on their cell phone of the baby animals that need to be rescued so they'll know exactly what to look for on their trek through the jungle.

Here's the Diego & Baby Jaguar I've been painting for far too many hours....
Anyone need a Diego? I'd love for it to be put to good use after this party.

One of the many messes in my house right now..... waiting, waiting, waiting
for the rain to stop so that I can set it all out in the backyard

Here's Click with a picture of the baby animals that have unfortunately fallen into a trap the Bobo Brothers set out in the jungle. It will be up to Jacob and his friends to find them and rescue them from that net

Sorry everyone for the many changes in dates.....
hang in there and maybe Sunday we'll have a beautiful day for Jacob to celebrate his big boy birthday.

The Birthday Girls

My friend Heather, who rounded the corner into that 4th decade a few months ago, humorously nicknamed herself Mee-Maw. It cracks me up because she always saying things like, "It's past Mee-Maw's bedtime. Mee-Maw has GOT to go home."

I'm thinking that maybe here on my 39th birthday, I might have just become Mee-Maw's good friend Maw-Maw. It'll be great...... we'll hang out..... share stories from back in the day when we danced to the Go's-Go's and ate candy cigarettes that our parents bought for us........ when we got our first microwave and played our 45's on the record player....... and the time my finger got stuck in the hole of my rotary phone...... we'll share secrets of the best wrinkle creams and sleep aids........ and then we'll commiserate over our sore backs and knees that pop every time we bend down to pick up our reading glasses. Just call me Maw-Maw....

Molly, I guess that makes you Baby Cakes...... seeing as though you're all of 33 tomorrow!! Oh, to be 33 again.... enjoy it, girl.

So we went out last night to celebrate Molly's and my birthdays. Great food, a few laughs..... I love to hang out with the girls. Maybe now that school's about to start, we can get together a little more often.

Here we are at Amsterdam for our little birthday celebration

The birthday girls..... Molly & me

Loving that yellow shirt, and loving even more that the entertainment just showed up

Amy, Elizabeth & me

Holly looking a little masculine don't you think?
Ha! Holly, pink and ruffles DO NOT convey masculinity, girl! You look great.

Is that an unposed picture of Julee?? And it's a great picture, too

Heather, Holly & Stacy
(doesn't Stacy look just like the Chicken Salad Chick? -- see image below)



Julee and Molly.... looking like sisters

Holly, me & Rona..... OK, stop taking all these damn pictures, right?

Rona, Heather, Amy, Elizabeth & Holly

Alright, Heather..... you wanted some not-so-posed, goofier shots...... here's one for ya!

Getting ready for Stacy's infamous Birthday Song

And there she goes...... just a singin' and a dancin'

Thanks for a fun birthday guys!
363 days to the big 4-0. I'm going to make this my best year ever.

A little R & R on 30-A

Long time no see.

July has been a whirlwind. Too busy to blog, but I sure have missed it...... I'll fill you in on a few of the happenings around here in the last couple of weeks.....

A few days after the boys left, Jonathan and I spent a fantastic, AMAZING 2 days in Atlanta.... all alone. I loved every minute of it. We talked and laughed and ate dinner out and then came back to the room to enjoy some time together. No kids.... a bit of romance..... it was great. The next day I shopped while he worked. Perfect day.

We came home to load up the car and head to the beach the next morning. I didn't have a clue at how wonderful this week at the beach would be..... BEST trip ever, by far, to the lovely white-sand shores and peaceful, laid-back days of life on 30-A. I can honestly say, for the first time in my life, I didn't want to come home. I love my house, my life, our life together.... but this time I found myself daydreaming... fantasizing about how we could pick up our bags and just move. Right there. On 30-A..... home of scrumptious restaurants, bicycle rides, long walks on the beach, and yes, of course, that utterly amazing view from my chair under the umbrella. There is heaven on earth.... and we found it this week.

We stayed at the most beautiful condo.... 2800 sq ft.... granite, travertine, 10 1/2 foot ceilings.... gorgeous views.... everyone had their space.... their privacy... yet we all had a great time together too. I mean it when I say I truly didn't want to ever come home. I took way to many photos and yes, ate WAY too many desserts. But 3 1/2 pounds heavier than I started out the week.... well, I'm really happy. You gotta love some sand and salt air.....

Playing in the pool

Riding the waves

And Mom & Dad enjoying some time under the umbrella

Daddy's so much fun in the ocean.... we all love to play football

And Mommy built me a monster truck track to play in too

Digging out the track with Macy

Macy playing in the sand

Look at that water..... it was a clear as a swimming pool..... maybe even more so

And we loved our pools too.... especially all the rocks and waterfalls

That sweet boy loves the sand

He loves it so much he decides to just lay down and take a nap right there.... oh, the life!

Madison is quite the castle builder herself

And Macy even found a shark tooth

Jacob with his surfer hair

Madison.... ever the poser

The lake in front of our condo came right up to the beach so the kids had a great time playing in it, too.... and even found some fish and crabs in there

Macy & Jacob by the pool

Jacob jumping off the rocks for the 100,000th time!

Maddie & Mommy (with her old lady hat on!)

Just look at that water!! Can you see why I wouldn't mind waking up to this everyday??

I love how they all play together in the water...... no fights, just fun

We even canoed back to the condo one day

A crab caught in the lake

I can't get enough of these "from the backside" photos of my kids

And the REAL THREAT to my figure.... DONUT HOLE doughnuts!
My, My.... do they ever know how to make a doughnut!

It's not a beach trip without a trip to the Mecca of doughnut-making

A little birthday dinner at P.F. Chang's

Look at how sweet they are being to each other!

And Jacob's first attempt at chop sticks

The kids really enjoyed the week, too. Everyday they would ask, "How many more days do we have left?" And when I'd tell them, in unison they'd all say, "NO! Can't be! We've only been here like 2 days.... why do we have to go home?" But we did.... and it was sort of nice to be home..... but now, let the parties begin.... me on the 26th, Jacob on the 28th..... What a great start to the 39th year of my life.... can't wait to cruise on down to 30-A next July!

What do you get when you add........

7 kids + 9 nights + 10 days + the pool + video games + football + darts + movies + cards + a whole lot of food = A Very Messy House and ONE TIRED MAMA!

But a very blessed and happy mama, too. My sister's boys came in last Thursday and we've spent every waking moment together for actually 11 days, but the first day was at my mom's house. Then they all came and stayed with us for the next 10 days. We've packed alot in, and at times it's been a little difficult to make everyone (ages 3 -15) happy, but it was truly fun to get to see them for so long. Living 6 hours away, it's been hard as the kids have gotten older to visit as much as we used to do.

The house was busy with activity all the time.... usually 7:00am til at least midnight...... yes, EVERY NIGHT! And man, those boys can EAT!! We usually went through at least 4 trash bags a day..... 4 dishwasher loads a day..... and every chance I got I was washing, drying and folding clothes. Did I mention the 2 gallons of milk a day? Homemade ice cream and desserts every day, too. Oh well, forget the beach body I guess..... but it was all worth it. The boys really had a good time, and we enjoyed having them so much we're all talking about 2 weeks next summer!

I didn't take that many pictures this week..... I was a little busy and it sort of skipped my mind..... but here are a few.

My three in the back row, and Connor (15), Cooper (9), Jack (10), and Ben (14) in the front

Playing some ball in the yard

And here's one of the four boys

Ben & me.... Ben actually turned out to be quite a good bowler

Ben and Jacob -- my how Jacob LOVED having all those big boys around

Ben, Macy, Connor, Jacob & Cooper watching Jack bowl

Jacob was a trooper..... bowled 2 full games..... albeit a little sllooooooooowwwww. His balls took so long to get to the pins they'd all take a seat and watch it. Didn't really matter though.... Jacob actually beat Connor on the first game.

Connor's turn

Jack, Cooper and me

Macy getting her first ever STRIKE!

Madison posing for her Mama

Macy, Jack, Cooper, Jacob & Maddie

One silly shot before they left to go home

Thanks boys for keeping us entertained this week.... you guys were so good and we really enjoyed having you!

The 4th at the Lake

This 4th of July was a really special one. My sister and her boys came up from Savannah and we all spent the day at the lake boating and intertubing. Well, and jet skiing for all of an hour or so...... that is until my oldest nephew accidentally ran over the ski rope.... it got tangled up in the motor..... and we had to tow it into the shop..... all the way across the lake..... for an ALL DAY repair..... an expensive one! But other than that little fiasco, we had a great day.

Haley and the boys have had quite a year.... lots of changes for their family including a new business for Haley, and she's been extremely busy. So it was so nice to be able to have a little fun and see them longer than the normal 2 day visit. In fact, the boys have decided since Haley has to work every day this week they are just going to stay with us for another week. It will be more than a little crazy.... (I'm starting to feel a little Jon & Kate coming on!).... with 7 kids in the house..... 5 boys and 2 girls..... from ages 15 to 3, but I'm really happy to see them for so long. It's always made me a little sad that they are 6 hours away from us, and the cousins don't really get to spent a lot of time together. This week will be memorable for everyone.... that is if I can just ever get out of the kitchen cooking for all those boys!

Connor & Ben on the intertubes

Jack, Connor, Madison & Macy

Ben and the gang on the boat (notice the towing action in the background)

Macy, Jacob & Cooper enjoying the ride

Jack taking a little break from the tubes

We had quite a packed house on that boat

And a close up view of the tow.... Jonathan just decided to kick back
and relax for the long ride across the lake

Fiasco #2..... just after we towed the jet ski across the lake and we were back on our way to having a little fun..... I decided to take picture of the kids tubing.... climbed up on the back of the boat and propped my foot up over the side (you know, to get the closest possible shot) and what do you know but my shoe flew off into the water. Ooops! I told them not to go back, but they did anyway.... with 2 tubes and all the kids riding them..... sorry guys!

Macy & Cooper

Jacob, Maddie and Jonathan taking a little swim break

Madison, Jonathan and Macy about to take off

Jonathan and Ben

Cooper getting cooled down, too

Haley and mom's friend, Diane

Connor was always making Jacob giggle

Wish me luck this week with all these kiddos! It should be an adventure!